Stoicism for a Better Life – Weekly exercise (July 25, 2021)

Hello there,

If I’m being honest, this week’s exercise is more geared towards what I needed (I am but a human being on a journey of self-improvement myself after all). The point of focus for the week: Scrutinize everything, including (and often especially) your own impressions and emotions. This is from Epictetus Discourses II 18-24: 

“First off, don’t let the force of the impression carry you away. Say to it, ‘hold up a bit and let me see who you are and where you are from – let me put you to the test’…”

We are constantly making split-second decisions (this is an evolutionary trait that has helped our ancestors survive. These decisions are made based on years of experience and knowledge as well as using the same skill to confirm prejudices, stereotypes and assumptions (autonomous loop and heuristic connections). 

This could be good (clearly as our species has made it this far). But in many cases (more often than not in today’s modern world) it could be very bad. The key and most important thing to remind ourselves of this built-in trait, so we may be conscious about it in real-time,  and realize it, and not be on autopilot.

So, for this week’s practical exercise let us apply the old Russian proverb to our impressions of external things: “Trust but verify”. Trust your senses, but verify what those senses are telling you. Even if it is misleading information, however, it is still information and can be useful in making the eventual “right” decision. So don’t ignore them. Just face them honestly and ask them what they REALLY mean. 

Oh….and most important of all…don’t forget that your emotions, anxieties and all other emotions and angst is 1000% part of your external world, so make sure to check those….make sure to ESPECIALLY check, verify and challenge those.

Anderson Silver

(Author of “Your User’s Manual” and “Vol 2: Your Duality Within”)